The man who ran across a World Cup pitch in Qatar, holding a pride flag and wearing a t-shirt on which was written ‘Save Ukraine’ and ‘Respect Iranian Women’, has been identified as Mario Ferri Falco.
The Italian is not shy when it comes to jumping the barriers and storming a football pitch, having already ticked off quite a few down the years, though his latest stunt in the Gulf State may be his bravest inside a football stadium.
Who is Mario Ferri?
Nicknamed ‘Il Falco’, or ‘The Falcon’, Ferri is a 35-year-old activist and a footballer.
According to reports, Ferri has been a professional football for over nine years, and was most recently contracted to second-division Indian team United Sports Club. The league was temporarily suspended in March 2022 due to the coronavirus pandemic, so Ferri returned to his hometown of Pescara.
What other stunts has he done?
Ferri has a storied history of pitch invasions. Back in 2009, he invaded an Italy vs Netherlands match demanding striker Antonio Cassano be called up to the World Cup squad for the following summer. He wasn’t.
Ferri was back at it at the World Cup that summer, in South Africa, with a message for head coach Marcello Lippi - whose Italian team, without Cassano, had already crashed out - with the message: “Lippi I told you so”.
A few months later, in December 2010, Ferri’s messages started becoming more political. He ran onto the pitch during the Club World Cup final between Inter Milan and Mazembe in Abu Dhabi, with the message “Free Sakineh,” referencing Iranian Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, who was sentenced to death by stoning and eventually released in 2014 after nine years on death row.
At the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, he interrupted a group-stage game between Belgium and USA with the message: "Save Favelas Children."
Helping Ukraine
All brave acts, though, none more so than earlier this year when he travelled from Pescara to Poland to help Ukrainians.
Just weeks after Russian tanks first rolled over the Ukraine border, Ferri rented a car to help refugees cross between Lviv and Poland. He says on his Instagram that 60 people were saved.
Ferri has many tattoos and one is on the Ukrainian trident, which is the gold coat of arms of Ukraine.
The man who ran out to the football field during #FIFAWorldCupQatar2022 is Mario Ferri, Italian football player and public activist.
— Anton Gerashchenko (@Gerashchenko_en) November 28, 2022
In March 2022 he helped evacuate Ukrainian women and children at the Polish border.
Grazie mille! pic.twitter.com/sw9Dj3zVMm
Speaking after Portugal’s win over Uruguay, the match which Ferri invaded, Portugal and Wolves midfielder Ruben Neves publicly supported Ferri’s message and spoke of his wish for World Cup officials in Qatar to be easy on him.
He told reporters: “We are all with them and the message on his shirt as well. We hope nothing happens to the boy because we understand his message and I think all the world understood it as well.
“We know what has happened around this World Cup. It is a normal thing that can happen.”
